Chapter 9
The second floor of the Hunter Association building.
It was the floor lined with Chaos Gates beyond the safe zone—gates where nothing could possibly go wrong. The quests here were ridiculously straightforward. Things like "Survive for 7 hours" or "Kill three monsters!"—content so basic it wouldn't even make the cut for a mass-produced mobile game's tutorial.
A bit twisted, huh.
I'd naturally assumed I'd take my Awakener exam on the third or fourth floor.
Even for the lowest-grade Awakener, wouldn't some shred of potential emerge in a crisis?
How the hell were they supposed to gauge that in a space boring enough to make you yawn? No doubt Yuneobyeon had pulled some strings...
The team leader's intentions were too damn obvious. It must've really gotten under his skin.
...Incompetent...
Fine, let's say they assigned me to the second floor following procedure. Whatever, all good.
But is this quest really right?
"Survive as long as possible."
Just hunker down and endure.
"This is insane."
Survive as long as you can in a barren wasteland with no water or food. For someone like me, now plagued by chronic anemia, it was basically poison.
If there were actual monsters worth the name, I could've leveled up and toughed it out.
Purururu.
The moment I entered.
And even now.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
Is that... a monster? A real monster?
The inky darkness faded, revealing a lush green meadow. The kind of idyllic spot where you could nap peacefully.
And right in the center sat a squishy lump of matter, all alone. When the wind blew, it quivered with a purururu.
A slime.
Chaos Gates were paradoxical. They embodied "chaos" while strictly adhering to "order."
If the quest difficulty was higher than the gate's rank suggested...
...the spawning monsters were correspondingly pathetic.
This was exactly that situation.
"Slime."
I muttered it several times, unable to believe it.
I approached cautiously. It didn't twitch a bit as I drew near.
When I tentatively touched it with my hand, it finally quivered with a fine purururu.
What the hell. Why are you so cute? You're the size of a mountain. I'm the one who should be shaking, not you!
Haa...
Maybe it was because I'd just been rubbing shoulders with goblins yesterday. This reveal was a total letdown, visually and otherwise.
Lower your guard, and you're dead, right?
Thanks to years as a porter, I'd compiled my own mental monster encyclopedia. Low-grade E-rank Awakeners like me had to learn through brutal trial and error.
Guilds and the Association kept monster weaknesses and traits under wraps. It was all profit for them. Selfish bastards, every one.
Anyway.
This giant water droplet was still a magic beast. Especially that liquid trapped inside its epidermis—it was highly toxic.
Ingestion wouldn't kill you outright, but it'd cause severe gastric bleeding. I'd mistaken it for jelly once and ended up with a stomach pumping and a hell of a scolding.
Come to think of it, that was in a cave-type Abyss Gate too. Couldn't beat the hunger, ate a slime, and paid the price.
Not happening again.
Let's test it anyway.
I poked the slime with the knife my brother gave me—Blood Shadow. No reaction.
So I stabbed it.
Squuuish.
There was only slight resistance from the skin, but the slime obediently let the knife penetrate. Slick and slippery.
When my elbow sank in, I yanked the knife back with all my might. Shaking my arm splattered blue slime fluid onto the weeds, leaving blue dots.
Okay.
I knew it, but confirming it solidified my certainty.
One thing was clear.
This quest was screwed.
Slash attacks were useless against slimes.
To earn additional rewards, try defeating monsters inside the gate in the shortest time possible! This greatly affects your clear grade! (Note: This is optional.)
Grade was basically a lost cause.
If I were a magic-type ability user, maybe I'd have a shot.
Unfortunately, all I'd learned was swordplay.
"Of all things, you..."
I muttered while stroking the slime. Even S-rank magic beasts could be cut— they just tended to deflect blades.
Got Blood Shadow and all, for nothing.
An overpowered weapon, wasted on a magic beast with the worst matchup imaginable. How was my luck this bad?
Tired of pessimism, but reality sucked...
Gurgle.
Goddamn. My stomach growled right on cue.
No way. I'd eaten less than an hour ago?
"Ah..."
A prickling static shock ran through me.
I checked the quest window again.
Time inside the gate passes much faster than in reality. One day here equals 30 minutes outside. However, biological time follows the outside world.
The fine print at the end.
'Biological time follows the outside.'
My body clock was synced to the real world.
Confusing as hell.
So that's how Chaos Gates work.
No wonder clear records were generally low. Let's check the leaderboard.
I pulled out the Hunter Pad Yuneobyeon had given me before leaving.
1ST / Jegal** / 39'46".07 B+
2ND / Jeong** / 30'23".18 B
3RD / Lee** / 29'54".39 C+
…
"Grades drop in 10-minute increments."
Theoretically, surviving one hour gets you A+.
Hm.
Seeing it laid out sparked a flicker of hope.
No matter how low-rank the dungeon, the absence of A-grades or higher was motivating for a challenger like me. Especially since my goal in registering was to draw attention.
Of course, it was all theoretical. Even first place bailed before 40 minutes. Under 20 was a guaranteed D or worse.
They weren't weak-willed. Even sturdy Awakeners were frail humans before hunger.
Some probably ate slimes and flunked spectacularly.
No point drinking seawater when shipwrecked.
Lucky I knew better.
Key is items 1 and 4.
First, deal with the hunger somehow...
Grrrrumble!
Damn it.
Stamina draining in real time.
Feels like less than 20 minutes in here, but my head's already light. And I'm already blood-deficient.
…
Wait. Hold up.
Why am I even worried about blood loss?
The red thread snapped the moment I entered the elevator with my brother. The first-floor lobby was isolated from the Chaos Gate floors above.
Which means...
If my brother isn't running a Chaos Gate, the red thread shouldn't exist.
But it did.
Rubbed my eyes—it was still there, a red thread.
"...Thinner than before."
This thickness—I'd seen it recently. Well, a few days ago, counting back to my past life.
This is...
That guy.
My mortal enemy.
It happened in an instant.
Han Biyeol → Seo Wonseok
Transferred EXP: +1,055
"...??"
It didn't stop.
Status windows announcing EXP dedication popped up one after another.
For some reason, Han Biyeol was grinding hard within my range.
Repaying yesterday's Gate Break with interest...?
Seemed like it.
Unlike Abyss Gates that popped up sporadically, Chaos Gates were always accessible. Plenty of Hunters used them for training.
I didn't know why, but Han Biyeol was thirsting for growth like mad. Not heaven-sent talent, yet he'd become Korea's first S-rank. Han Biyeol was a hardworking bastard.
Wonder what drives him.
I shook my head.
No reason I needed to know.
Then a level-up notice pierced my thoughts.
Eh?
I rubbed my stomach.
Hunger gone. No more growling.
Level-up had auto-boosted my stamina.
Han Biyeol's dedication had bought me at least 15 minutes' grace.
* * *
15 minutes earlier, Association lobby.
As Yuneobyeon kept schmoozing with Seo Boseok Hunter, a group of burly guys passed through the revolving door.
"Senior, aren't you being too diligent? Even if work got screwed because of you, you could take a day off, right?"
"My dear junior, tease me one more time and I'll punch a hole in your jaw."
It was Han Biyeol and his sleazy narrow-eyed junior Hunter.
"Haha. I'll watch my mouth... Hek!"
The junior's eyes flew wide open. Han Biyeol freaked a beat later. A Hunter they absolutely couldn't tangle with right now was already there as a guest.
"Why is Seo Hunter here?!"
Han Biyeol hurriedly clamped his hand over his junior's mouth. He ignored the damp palm.
Why?
Seo Boseok Hunter never set foot in the Association...
No way.
His eyes flicked to the electronic board. Thanks to Yuneobyeon—unwittingly—drawing attention, Seo Hunter hadn't noticed them.
2F 266. Seo** : Sityletr-66
That bastard.
Even rolling sideways, it was him.
Name blurred, but "Seo" was a rare surname.
No wonder "Seo Hunter" stuck as Seo Boseok's moniker.
"...!!"
Pieces falling into place.
Han Biyeol whispered in his junior's ear.
"Hey, you keep eyes on Seo Boseok Hunter here."
"Wh-what about you, senior?!"
"I gotta run some laps on the second-floor Chaos Gates."
He had to meet him.
That kid with some connection to Seo Boseok Hunter.
Had to confirm his awakening ability. Or he'd die of sleep deprivation. Better risk death and ask the kid outright.
When he's away from Seo Boseok Hunter.
If it really was the Instant Death he suspected...
I gotta bail on this plan, whatever it takes...!
No thanks to a dog's death.
As past-life Han Biyeol said, no major grudge against Seo Boseok Hunter.
"It's your specialty. Go chat up the great Seo Hunter or something."
Han Biyeol talked to a staffer and headed to the second floor. His junior grumbled but slunk toward Seo Boseok, hoping for a chat.
After that, Han Biyeol spun through the second floor's lowest Chaos Gates like a top. But he never reached Seo Wonseok's gate.
His -44 Luck was blocking the "EXP synergy effect." Han Biyeol suffered cold sweats but kept looping gates relentlessly. Whatever came his way.
...And that's how Seo Wonseok enjoyed this sudden EXP trickle.